Zayn Malik goes there when asked if he’s ever been
Zayn Malik has a nuanced view of his past relationship with Gigi Hadid five years after their split.
The former One Direction member appeared on Wednesday’s episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, and in the interview, host Alex Cooper pressed him on his previous claim that he was never “really in love,” despite his high-profile romance with Hadid.
“My understanding of love is always evolving,” he said. “You know, at the time, I might have thought it was love, but as I got older, I realized maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was lust. Maybe it was this, maybe it was that. I don’t feel like it was love.”
Malik and Hadid began dating in 2015 and quickly became one of the most talked about young couples in Hollywood. Their daughter, Khai, was born in September 2020.
The couple went their separate ways in 2021. Around the same time, Malik pleaded no contest to four counts of harassment after getting into an altercation with Hadid’s mother, Yolanda, at the Pennsylvania home he and Hadid shared at the time.
Appearing on “The Zach Lang Show” in 2024, the singer admitted, “I don’t know if I’ve really been in love right now.”
“You look at it with new eyes and think, ‘Well, maybe I wasn’t in love there,’” he continued, but did not mention Hadid by name.
However, in his “Call Her Daddy” chat, Malik suggested that his feelings toward his ex weren’t so simple.
Stéphane Cardinale – Corbis via Getty Images
“Just to state this, I will always love G, because she is the reason my son is, you know, on this earth,” he said. “I have the greatest respect for her. I will always love her, but I don’t know if I was ever in love with her.”
If he had been in love with Hadid, he added, “I would have been a better version of myself.”
Since 2023, Hadid has been in a relationship with actor Bradley Cooper.
Malik’s interview for “Call Her Daddy” comes weeks before his long-awaited return to music. Their fifth studio album, “Konnakol,” will be released in April.
Performing in Las Vegas last month, Malik appeared to take a playful jab at his former bandmate Harry Styles, who will release a new album next month.
“Let’s hope the ticket prices weren’t too high. Just saying!” Malik joked with the crowd, seemingly alluding to reports about the eye-popping ticket prices for Styles’ upcoming Together Together tour.